Going Down in Flames
by thomashiddleston
Summary: New York had been reduced to ruins the moment the Chitauri had come through the portal. Loki had the entire world under his thumb, the avengers were defeated, the very last strand of hope was kept with the Resistance. Ella just so happened to be the founder of this group, her spirit and determination attracted the attention of many, including Loki's, but onto a dangerous level.


New York had been reduced to ruins the moment the Chitauri had come through the portal. Loki had the entire world under his thumb, the avengers were defeated and taken god knows where, the very last strand of hope was kept with the Resistance, a team of fighters and believers who refused to give up, even when the odds were hurled towards them, they were determined to give their all into saving the human race from subjugation. From Loki.

Ella just so happened to be the founder and leader of this group, her courage and bravery aided her greatly with her full time duty, there were no cowards fighting for freedom, they were the first to kneel. But not her, she refused to, she never would. She'd be damned if she stood face to face with the tyrant, she would simply stand, knees locked, glaring at him. Nothing could crush her hatred towards the self proclaimed 'king'.

She was not fearless. She'd be a fool not to fear things, to fear Loki, in particular. He was an unstable man and could be triggered by the simplest of things, or at least she had heard. He was unpredictable.

During Ella's previous visit to library, or what was left of it, she picked up a few Norse Mythology books and began reading about him, she knew that many of the things written about him were, in fact, false but she was going to take what she could get. What she did find out was that Loki was the god of mischief, lies and deceit, which did explain why he was dangerously good at concealing his real emotions. She shunned all other information, since it would have been impossible to tell what was true without the help of his brother, Thor, who was locked away as well, at the complete and utter mercy of that monster.

-:::-

Ella ran through the demolished streets, careful not to be seen by any of the hostile forces, whether that be the barbarian creatures or the damaged being himself.

She and the other resistance fighters had very little time to get out of there before news of this event aired on screens across the world. She was sure once the bomb they had planted in one of their enemies' vaults had gone off, the 'king' would be enraged. She tried to convince herself that it was necessary, that it was so they would loss a great amount of weapons in the explosion but the publicity was something she did not want. She was certain Loki was acutely aware of the Resistance but he wouldn't be for long, she could practically hear the ticking in her head as the explosive prepared to detonate.

Time seemed to stand still as they ran through the rubble that had been thrown onto the ground during the events of New York several months ago, no one bothered to clean it up.

Just as she began to question if it had even been activated a large explosion appeared not far behind them, propelling them forward slightly but not enough to knock them off their feet. Some stumbled, some did not, but those who did quickly caught their footing as the clock ticked on, pushing them to continue.

This was where things became difficult, she was going to need to shout commands to the others before they were completely cornered. They were at huge disadvantage. The Chitauri had means of transportation, they did not, and as of now they most definitely had been seen.

"Units one and two, stay here and fight! Three and four! Take out the news choppers when they get here!" She yelled over the loud roaring of the hover crafts and the creatures that rode them.

Ella readjusted her sheath of blades that hung from her shoulder and pulled out her dual pistols as she stopped running to turn and face them. When she had stopped, the other members had halted as well and began to aim their weapons at the aliens that had taken over their home.

"Make it quick.. Horns will be here soon." She muttered under her breath, loud enough for the people around her to hear. None of them dared to take their eyes off of them as they flew closer, landing on the street in front of them.

Ella carefully reached for a grenade, making sure none of them saw the action before it had even been thrown. She pulled out the wire and threw it at them, immediately ducking for cover.

The creatures scrambled to throw it back but by the time they had picked it up it was too late, with a loud bang they all went flying into the air, all seeming to die as they braced for impact with the walls of buildings and towers.

She led her team away, quickly abandoning the streets to hide in an alleyway as they awaited the arrival of their other troops that had been sent to take down the press.

-:::-

Hours later, Loki sat upon the plush cushions of his designer couch, watching what had occurred earlier on his big screen. He gave the reporters permission to release the footage to the public, he wanted people to see the act of rebellion, he wanted to show to them all what would happen to them if they did the same. When the time was right, he would make them burn for all to see.

There was one Resistance fighter in particular that caught his attention, she seemed to have authority over all of the others leading him to quickly decide it was she who led the group of rebels.

He studied her for several minutes so if he was to encounter her, he would know exactly who she was.

The woman had dark brown hair and tan skin with a few scrapes and bruises scattered along it in various patterns, her eyes were a dancing blue that pierced through her enemies and she seemed to stride with a hidden confidence that kept everything at bay. Without it, she would fall just as the rest had, deeming him victorious once again.

The bombing had left him more than furious but he cared not for the weapons, it was that simple act that had him seething. He was not one to be bested by a few petty mortals, let alone one, and he was not going to start today, he immediately had sent out groups of the Chitauri to begin tracking down their headquarters, he knew they had one considering the amount of people and weaponry they brought with them for that endeavor and he was going to find it. They were the very last to try to defy him, that he did acknowledge but nevertheless he was going to destroy them and he was going to do it where everyone could see.

-:::-

Shortly after the incident, Ella and the rest had retreated back to their underground haven, not bothering with the remainder of the press. They had taken down a few choppers but were unable to get them all, there had been more than they had anticipated.

She was planning to head back out soon, in normal clothes, but of course she'd still have her weapons concealed beneath them, just incase.

Besides the Chitauri and rubble every where, New York had returned to normal and people walked the streets. The businesses and restaurants still thrived as did the city itself. The very idea of that drove Ella up the wall, people were supposed to be fighting back! But instead they just went along with it, kneeling willingly, giving up as the cowards they were.

She exhaled loudly as she slipped on a tight black dress and heels. It had been awhile since she had gotten something to eat that wasn't from the large freezer in their base. She did her makeup, going for a feline look and curled her hair, pulling on it at the bottoms to make it appear lazy.

Tonight was going to be her night of relaxation.

-:::-

Ella walked into the classy, five star restaurant that she had been wanting to try for months at the least, the air that it carried was both elegant and comforting, allowing her to immediately release all of the tension that she had built up over the past few hours.

She walked up to the waitress that was tending to the seating of their customers.

"Reservation for 'White'." She stated as she plastered a fake smile on her lips as others had always done when speaking with people they did not know.

The lady eyed her strangely before responding with a 'too sweet' tone, "Ah, yes.. Ms. White.. follow me please."

Ella happily complied as she followed behind the woman who obviously wanted nothing to do with her job or the eatery she stood in. It didn't take a genius or rocket scientist to figure that one out.

She led her to a small table in the center of the building, it was one of the only ones that was still available, they seemed pretty busy for a Wednesday night, something that Ella took note of as she sat down.

"Thank you.." She flashed yet another fake smile to the waitress, trying not to appear irritated.

"Uh huh.." She was already walking away from the table before she had responded over her shoulder with a sarcastic voice.

Ella looked through the menu, deciding on what she would like to eat. She figured she wouldn't get any service for at least several minutes so she took her time in reading her choices.

After she had read it one last time, the walleye looked particularly appetizing, it came with a side of mashed potatoes and bacon flavored gravy, something she wanted to try.

A new woman who looked to be in her mid forties walked up to her table and appeared way friendlier than the last had.

"Hello, my name is Tracy and I will be your ser-" she stopped mid sentence as she stared fearfully at something behind her, or perhaps, someone. Her jaw dropped to the floor as she quickly fell to her knees, the occasional tremor shaking through her body as she avoided staring at the thing behind her.

Ella was almost afraid to turn around, mostly the lady's fault but she managed to turn anyways, her eyes scanning the form that stood regally before her as she began to realize who it was that was intently staring at her.

"Eleanor Elizabeth White.." His voice was unnaturally smooth and sent shivers down her spine as he continued to speak, "you have been quite the agitator.. haven't you?" His tone came out as both enthusiastic and mocking as he raised an eyebrow at her, ignoring all the people that were now on their knees. "Where did you manage to get all of those explosives? If you don't mind me asking."

Ella slowly stood from her seat, pressing her back against the table as she tried desperately to keep her distance from the god who did not dare peel his gaze from her.

"I don't know what you are talking about.." She stated plainly as she struggled to keep her emotions in check, looking behind her to study all of the submissive people, she groaned angrily before turning back to him, something he definitely did not miss.

"You cannot deceive me.. I am the god of deceit! I know very well who you are, Ms. White." He spat angrily as his blue eyes caught fire.

Just before Ella responded a click of a cell phone camera sounded and she curiously turned her head to see who had taken the picture. While her pivot was curious, Loki's was enraged, making her even more frightened of what he would do next.

He strode over to the man and grabbed his phone, crushing it with the mere force of his hand as he glared at him, "Do you mortals really have that much disrespect? You would dare take a picture of me while I am having a very much private conversation!" Loki took hold of the young man and snapped his neck, throwing him to the floor. He turned back to face Ella, a malevolent smirk placed on his lips as he studied her from head to toe, the corners of his lips curling up, turning the smirk into a wide grin.

He began to slowly walk to her but disappeared only to assimilate right in front of her, clasping a hand around her throat and lifting her into the air, causing people to release audible gasps of shock and fear.

"You will kneel before me! Just as the rest have! And you will do it willingly!" He muttered maliciously as he bared his teeth at her, staring into her eyes.

The physical contact had her more than afraid, it had her gasping for air, his grip on her was tight enough to block air from traveling through her windpipe.

He stared at her, watching her struggle for air, he enjoyed seeing her squirm to survive, a fighter she was. Just before the life was drained from her, he let go, letting her fall to the ground as she began swallowing large amounts of oxygen.

"I hope you all have enjoyed the show but we must be going.." He stated as he observed the girl on the ground before him, her hands around her throat as she breathed in and then out repeatedly.

Ella's demeanor changed rapidly as she heard the use of the plural noun in his sentence, she quickly stood on her feet and attempted at running but he had already had her by her wrist.

The restaurant faded away in a swirl of black and blue, leaving her in the living room of Loki's residence.


End file.
